A look back at the last decade (2001-2010)

ATLANTA – In honor of 2011 and the end of the decade, here’s a recap of five top storylines from the last decade:

Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks/ War on Terror: No one event helped shape the decade more than the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The better part of a decade later, we’re still fighting the War on Terror, which during the decade saw fights in Afghanistan and Iraq, but wasn’t without controversy at home.

Election of Barack Obama and the resurgence of Republicans: The election of the 44th president, the nation’s first black president, is an historic moment, no matter one’s political persuasion. No doubt tied to the election of Barack Obama and the Democrats control of congress during the latter half of the decade, Republicans soared to an historic election in November. Who knows what the next decade holds on the political front.

Government growth and growing opposition: Truth be told, conservatives opposition to big government probably started picking up steam during the Bush Administration, but it wasn’t until 2009 – when the Democrats were firmly in control – that they started taking to the streets and protesting high taxes, out-of-control spending and government takeovers of everything that wasn’t nailed down.

Enron, white collar crimes and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: It seems this one is almost forgotten in the age of Iraq, but the fallout from the Enron scandal brought about a major legislative change regarding accounting standards.

The housing bust and the economic downturn: If the Dot Com bust ushered in the new decade, perhaps it’s only fitting we have a housing bust and an economic downturn to dominate headlines during the last few years of the first decade of the new millennium.

There are dozens more than could be on this list, but this is a good overview of the events that helped shape the last 10 years.

Happy New Year.